In Suriname, the gateway to the Caribbean for the economic powerhouse Brazil, as well as the rest of inland South America, there isn’t even a U.S. flag flying in the capital city center, where dozens of other nations are represented.

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“People are skeptical of Americans here,” one local tells me.

Meanwhile, in what may be the epicenter of natural resource wealth and trade, other countries are making their presence known. Brazilians, Indonesians, Chinese, and even Koreans roam.

Suriname is a multicultural place where mosques stand next to synagogues, which are built next to Christian churches. The influences here are many. And just as the Caribbean was the hub of trade while the New World was being explored, there are signs of prosperity anew.

About an hour’s flight away is Trinidad and Tobago, whose stock exchange was up 19.3%, and which was one of the 11 best performing markets last year, according to Business Insider. Near here, too, is the Jamaican stock market index, which was up last year nearly 13%; the Panama general index, up nearly 30%; and the Venezuela Caracas Stock Exchange, up more than 80%, according to B.I.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone following the natural resource wealth trend. The Caribbean holds coffee, oil, metals, sugar, fish, and, of course, fruits and vegetables, of which the U.S. is now a net importer.

To be sure, delicately exploiting these lands for its riches is no easy feat. But this is where social entrepreneurs and impact investors can blossom.

“What you are seeing is a baby BRIC spring to life,” Plotkin says. BRIC is of course the acronym for the growth spurt nations Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

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Plotkin, a Skoll Foundation Entrepreneur will be joining the Skoll World Forum next week in Oxford, England, where nearly a thousand social entrepreneurs, thought leaders and strategic investors to exchange ideas and solutions for some of the world’s most pressing problems. (Read more about Skoll World Forum here.)

Some of the things that ought to be talked about there and considered by all of us — especially in the U.S. — are how to properly manage select areas of abundance.

The Amazon holds close to $1 trillion in of natural resource wealth. Brazil is prospering madly. Other South American countries are also seeing the value in their lands, and world trade is heightening.

The Caribbean is a perfect place for the U.S. to drop anchor and swing through to exert and exact trade. It would be an economic boon for businesses and investors.

The Obama Administration, however, isn’t stepping up. Critics say current U.S. trade policies mimic Bush-era deals that make it harder for developing countries to grow and create financial stability.

It’s time to fashion another “New World” — and this time one whose resources and people are managed effectively for us all.

As the U.S. emphasizes trade with China, we should look to where China is trading. A lot of that trade is coming through the Caribbean and into the Americas.

Investors should follow those trade winds, and U.S. policy should set sail.

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